Britblog Roundup # 26

This Britblog thing is beginning to feel all grown up now....according to one or other cod survey of the last week it’s old enough to be having a mid-life crisis all of its own already. Hhhm. Think we might wait ’till it’s a little older before we let it go off chasing inappropriately youthful skirt.

The BritBlog Roundup # 26 can also be found at the Truth Laid Bear’s Ubercarnival.

So, welcome to the 26 th version of the Britblog Roundup, our attempt to uncover those pearls and gems of the UK and Irish blogosphere. As you may or may not know I’ve been hired to create a book version to this for the Xmas market and Amazon is already discounting it before I’ve even finished writing it. If you’ve got something out there that you think should make a list of the great posts of the year please do email it to me or drop it in the comments.

If you simply want to add something to next week’s Roundup you can make nominations to britblog AT gmail DOT com. Any subject, any viewpoint, whatever you think is a great post.

First up is Clive Davis with a post on that Rolling Stones song. He’s not been taking Sir Mick seriously for a number of years.

Volsunga has a disturbing tale about the rape of an underage girl. What makes the evil of the act even worse is the way in which the victim refuses to see it for what it is, making excuses for why it isn’t really a "rape".

GenderGeek on the contribution made by patriarchy to violence against women...and the way in which the debate over extensions to drinking hours have obscured this link.

Liberal England disagrees with Monbiot on the definition of patriotism. Mick Hartley also delivers an elegant skewering of the moon struck one’s logic.

In our special mention for foreigners section the WogBlogger is driving a Morgan from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Start with that link and then the subsequent photos. If you see an Aussie lawyer of Italian extraction in a Morgan, wave hello. I will admit to finding it slightly odd seeing a photo on an Oz blog of a sports car parked 15 metres from my front door. And a sausage shop 5 metres from the local.

Justin at The Sharpener looks at the murder of Steve Vincent and the varied reactions of "the left".

Jarndyce comes back from Wales (the important question is why would anyone go there?) and leaps into the Hiroshima/Nagasaki controversy of last week. Just how can we (or can’t we?) justify the bombings?

Ken Owen on Omar Bakri. I knew the guy was odd but really? "Homosexuality is bad for your tummy?" Not quite the body art I would have mentioned.

Mike’s Books on a subject I know very little about. The shipping abroad of orphans (and not orphans too) by the various churches. An important historical episode too little discussed today.

The Rockall Times on racial profiling and oppressed minorities. Gingers have got away with far too much already!

Wonko has been chasing Sport England up hill and down dale. Read the full correspondence. The England Project also joins in the sport of holding bureaucracy accountable.

If you feel that this is all too Britsh (and Irish) and inclusive, you might want to visit Toque, who’s started up the Witanagemot Club. Stricly English for English people only. (Well, not readers, obviously.)

Coffee and PC on the thuggish and vicious world that is student journalism. I don’t think I’ve ever worked that hard in a job (no, not even when I had to bribe the North Korean KGB guy inside their embassy) as he did to get one.

Francis has good news for blogging. Beer really is good for you.

England Expects excoriates the moral and intellectual vacuity of an MEP. Not all that much of a surprise but these guys really have been dimboes.

The Curmudgeon is good on the Guardian and their employment of rather odd columnists. Harry’s Place provides more detail on the connections and beliefs of the new star columnist.

Blood and Treasure is very good indeed on the new "citizenship ceremonies". The joke at the end is especially funny.

Talk Politics on the idiocy that is Charlie Falconer. Either he’s a moron or he thinks we all are.

Last week saw a concerted blog attempt on the subject of reform of the House of Lords. My suggestion (anybody at all and anyone you please but absolutely no politicians allowed) didn’t really gain any traction so have a look at Nosemonkey’s reasonable and rational thoughts.

Sean Thomas takes time off from the day job to give us "Naziphobia on the rise." Who says satire is dead? (Actually, it was Tom Lehrer but there we go).

Mark Kaplan takes up the rhetorical cudgels against the perjorative "middle class lefty". Doesn’t like it, as bad as the brush eater eaters.

Stephen Tall admits to a secret and perverse vice. Big Brother. Has anyone told the party managers?

Tim Ireland is looking for help with his new project on political blogging. Essentially he wants to get all politicians blogging properly. Sounds goodto me, anything to take away their time and stop them passing so many bloody stupid laws. (And that Tim is actualy being serious, unlike this Tim.)

Random Acts of Reality answers another call. Treating people you don’t like, those you think are idiots, must be one of the tougher things to have to do.

Scott Burgess on animal rights and specieism. As you might expect Scott rather gives one to the Guardian columnist. (Note to non-native speakers. This is not a good thing to get given to you.)

Alun provides a masterclass in how to turn the search engines completely wild while explaining the locomotion of an australopithecine. Truly required reading for all bloggers.

Andrew Ian Dodge didn’t manage to get this in on time last week. Read it to find out why.

And that’s it, this week’s Britblog Roundup. Tune in, same time, same place, next week for another installment!

Toodle Pip!